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Burundi in crisis as top general assassinated

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A top Burundian general and right-hand man to President Pierre Nkurunziza was killed in a rocket attack on his car on Sunday, prompting fears of further instability in the crisis-hit country.

Adolphe Nshimirimana was widely seen as the central African nation's de facto internal security chief and even considered the regime's number-two.

Police and witnesses said General Nshimirimana's pick-up was hit by two rockets and sprayed with automatic gunfire in the capital Bujumbura on Sunday morning. He was later confirmed dead, along with his driver.

The presidency's communications chief Willy Nyamitwe confirmed that the general, a former army chief of staff and intelligence chief, had been killed.

"I have lost a brother, a companion in the struggle. The sad reality is that General Adolphe Nshimirimana is no longer with this world," he said in a message posted on Twitter.

Burundi's President Pierre Nkurunziza in Bujumbura on May 17  2015
Burundi's President Pierre Nkurunziza in Bujumbura on May 17, 2015
Carl de Souza, AFP/File

The assassination comes just over a week after Nkurunziza was declared the outright winner of a controversial presidential election, securing a third consecutive term despite opposition protests and international condemnation.

Nkurunziza's candidacy was condemned as unconstitutional by the opposition and provoked months of protests that left at least 100 people dead in a fierce government crackdown, as well as an attempted coup in mid-May.

Nshimirimana was seen as the mastermind behind the crackdown on the protests as well as a key player in foiling the coup attempt.

- AFP journalist detained, beaten -

African Union Commission chief Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma said in a statement she was "horrified" by the assassination, condemning "this barbaric act that is likely to further destabilise the country".

She urged the Burundian government, opposition political parties and civil society "to work very closely together to find a lasting solution to the current crisis".

A police officer runs in the direction of the old market in Burundi's capital Bujumbura on Augu...
A police officer runs in the direction of the old market in Burundi's capital Bujumbura on August 2, 2015 after a top general and close aide to President Pierre Nkurunziza was killed in an ambush on his car
Landry Nshimiye, AFP

Burundian journalist and AFP correspondent Esdras Ndikumana said he was detained by government security forces at the scene of the murder and badly beaten.

He was held for around two hours, during with he said he was subjected to severe beatings on his back, legs and the soles of his feet.

He was then released and hospitalised, with the injuries also including a suspected broken finger.

AFP's global news director Michele Leridon said she was "very shocked" by the attack, adding that the news agency would seek explanations from the Burundian authorities "and an assurance that such an incident will not happen again".

A source in the presidency warned of a possible wave of revenge attacks.

"The situation is very serious. The general was somebody who was essential in the system," said the source, who asked not to be named.

"We are trying to manage the situation but it is not easy. Our boys want to take revenge."

A man cycles past a barricade in Bujumbura on July 21  2015  which was set up by protestors opposed ...
A man cycles past a barricade in Bujumbura on July 21, 2015, which was set up by protestors opposed to President Pierre Nkurunziza's bid for a third-term
Carl de Souza, AFP/File

Police sources said seven arrests were made, and a source in Burundi's National Intelligence Service, the SNR, said security forces were "nervous".

"You cannot imagine what General Adolphe represented for us," the source said.

"They have declared war and they will see what they get," said another top pro-Nkurunziza general, who asked not to be named.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the assassination, although the coup plotters have since regrouped and have launched a rebellion in the north of the country, and have also been linked to a string of grenade attacks in Bujumbura.

There are fears that renewed conflict in the country could reignite ethnic Hutu-Tutsi violence and bring another humanitarian disaster to central Africa's troubled Great Lakes region.

The last civil war in Burundi, which ended in 2006, left at least 300,000 people dead.

A top Burundian general and right-hand man to President Pierre Nkurunziza was killed in a rocket attack on his car on Sunday, prompting fears of further instability in the crisis-hit country.

Adolphe Nshimirimana was widely seen as the central African nation’s de facto internal security chief and even considered the regime’s number-two.

Police and witnesses said General Nshimirimana’s pick-up was hit by two rockets and sprayed with automatic gunfire in the capital Bujumbura on Sunday morning. He was later confirmed dead, along with his driver.

The presidency’s communications chief Willy Nyamitwe confirmed that the general, a former army chief of staff and intelligence chief, had been killed.

“I have lost a brother, a companion in the struggle. The sad reality is that General Adolphe Nshimirimana is no longer with this world,” he said in a message posted on Twitter.

Burundi's President Pierre Nkurunziza in Bujumbura on May 17  2015

Burundi's President Pierre Nkurunziza in Bujumbura on May 17, 2015
Carl de Souza, AFP/File

The assassination comes just over a week after Nkurunziza was declared the outright winner of a controversial presidential election, securing a third consecutive term despite opposition protests and international condemnation.

Nkurunziza’s candidacy was condemned as unconstitutional by the opposition and provoked months of protests that left at least 100 people dead in a fierce government crackdown, as well as an attempted coup in mid-May.

Nshimirimana was seen as the mastermind behind the crackdown on the protests as well as a key player in foiling the coup attempt.

– AFP journalist detained, beaten –

African Union Commission chief Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma said in a statement she was “horrified” by the assassination, condemning “this barbaric act that is likely to further destabilise the country”.

She urged the Burundian government, opposition political parties and civil society “to work very closely together to find a lasting solution to the current crisis”.

A police officer runs in the direction of the old market in Burundi's capital Bujumbura on Augu...

A police officer runs in the direction of the old market in Burundi's capital Bujumbura on August 2, 2015 after a top general and close aide to President Pierre Nkurunziza was killed in an ambush on his car
Landry Nshimiye, AFP

Burundian journalist and AFP correspondent Esdras Ndikumana said he was detained by government security forces at the scene of the murder and badly beaten.

He was held for around two hours, during with he said he was subjected to severe beatings on his back, legs and the soles of his feet.

He was then released and hospitalised, with the injuries also including a suspected broken finger.

AFP’s global news director Michele Leridon said she was “very shocked” by the attack, adding that the news agency would seek explanations from the Burundian authorities “and an assurance that such an incident will not happen again”.

A source in the presidency warned of a possible wave of revenge attacks.

“The situation is very serious. The general was somebody who was essential in the system,” said the source, who asked not to be named.

“We are trying to manage the situation but it is not easy. Our boys want to take revenge.”

A man cycles past a barricade in Bujumbura on July 21  2015  which was set up by protestors opposed ...

A man cycles past a barricade in Bujumbura on July 21, 2015, which was set up by protestors opposed to President Pierre Nkurunziza's bid for a third-term
Carl de Souza, AFP/File

Police sources said seven arrests were made, and a source in Burundi’s National Intelligence Service, the SNR, said security forces were “nervous”.

“You cannot imagine what General Adolphe represented for us,” the source said.

“They have declared war and they will see what they get,” said another top pro-Nkurunziza general, who asked not to be named.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the assassination, although the coup plotters have since regrouped and have launched a rebellion in the north of the country, and have also been linked to a string of grenade attacks in Bujumbura.

There are fears that renewed conflict in the country could reignite ethnic Hutu-Tutsi violence and bring another humanitarian disaster to central Africa’s troubled Great Lakes region.

The last civil war in Burundi, which ended in 2006, left at least 300,000 people dead.

AFP
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With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.

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